China’s New Infrastructure Master Plan

Over the past few decades, China has transformed completely and has opened up an abundant amount of opportunities. It is the leading power in
multiple industries including energy and metal and is home to more than 1
billion people. And it is not done growing. In fact, it is planning on
expanding.

BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE

It all starts out with the Belt and Road Initiative. This
development strategy was introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping that
focuses on the interactions and connections between the Eurasian countries and
to stimulate trade as well as economic development. It consists of the land-based
route, “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the ocean driven route called the “Maritime
Silk Road.” The ‘belt’ includes the neighboring countries that connect China to
Europe via Central Asia and the Middle East. The ‘road’ is a sea route
that connects China’s southern coast to Eastern Africa and the Mediterranean.
China is deeming towards becoming more involved in global affairs and taking on
larger roles to help broaden their manufacturing capacity. This initiative is
intended to build a bridge and to enclose the infrastructure gap that exists
between the two areas.

In order for this initiative to take place, China is
planning on transforming its major cities as well as those that fall along the
BRI route. The plan is to improve the existing infrastructure and to invest in
new real estate projects. To properly execute this plan and make it a reality,
China is planning on spending around $150 billion each year on different
infrastructure developments within the different countries that link Asia and
Europe via the old Silk Road. They intend to do this with the hopes of starting
“a new era of globalization.” But, many of the countries that are involved in
the BRI do not have the financial capital to develop the infrastructure. With
the help of the Chinese funding these projects and developments, there will be
more opportunities to attract foreign investment as well as promote economic
development for the countries.

During this initiative, there are going to be pivotal cities
that will play a large role to help this plan succeed:

Xi’an: Located in
central China in the Shaanxi province, once Xi’an further develops, it will be
able to help neighboring regions like Lanzhou and Xi-ning to open up. The city
will also be able to serve as a gateway to other BRI cities in Central and
Southwest Asia.

Chengdu: Chengdu
will play a very important role in Western China. This city will act as the
main connection port for Yangtze River Economic belt as well as the
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

Pearl Delta: This
area is considered to be the Silicon Valley of China and will better integrate
with other surrounding cities. This will also acts as the linkage for trade
between the county and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Hong Kong and
Shanghai: These two countries are already considered financial and economic
hubs. Many international companies are planning on taking the opportunity to
open up branches and manufacturers in these two cities to expand their market.

Other Nations: Investment within Malaysia has sky
rocketed especially with the opening of the Alibaba logistics hub. In Sir Lanka, the Colombo Financial City
is currently being built and is predicted to bring in $13 billion worth of new
investments projects in the coming years.